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Facts about dehydration

Human organism
can survive just a minute or two without the air, couple of days without any
food and only four days without the water. When our body loses so much water
that it is more than we drank this condition is called dehydration. If there is
not enough water in the system, our organs start to fail and the whole body
eventually stops.

Water is
needed for the proper functioning of all organs and systems in the human body. Adequate
amount of water is necessary to maintain normal blood pressure. Insufficient
amount of water in the body will certainly affect the waste elimination from
the body and cause constipation. Water is also responsible for the regulation
of our bodily temperature through the sweating process, and if there is not
enough of water our temperature could increase significantly.

Dehydration
in Elderly

Elderly people
are more likely to suffer from dehydration, which can lead to serious
complications and illnesses. Usually, older patients suffer from multiple
chronic diseases and take many different medications to treat these conditions
and these all present risk factors for dehydration. Elderly are also more prone
to swallowing disorders, gastrointestinal bleeding and surgical procedures are
also common among them, all leading to potential dehydration. Other risk
factors for dehydration in older patients might include: fever, diarrhea, vomiting,
use of alcohol and some acute diseases, such as urinary tract infections and
pneumonia, often found in these patients.

With aging,
our body sends fewer signals about the thirst and it becomes less able to
maintain adequate liquids and water balance in the body. Because of that, older
people often don’t feel thirst and don’t drink sufficient amounts of water and
other fluids.

Elderly could
be also forgetting to drink water, due to their age, effects of the drugs they
have been taking or even because of the altered mental status. Sometimes,
decreased mobility can also affect intake of water, and people suffering from Parkinson’s
disease or stroke might also experience dehydration.

Dehydration Symptoms

First symptoms
of dehydration might be dry mouth and tongue, decrease in the amount of urine,
constipation, weight loss and sweating inability. Dehydrated people could also
experience headaches, dizziness, confusion and the drop of blood pressure while
standing, but also walking problems and falls.

How to Treat
Dehydration

The treatment
include the replacement of needed fluids by mouth (orally), or in more serious
cases intravenously or stomach tube fluid replacement.

Be aware
that aging people need less water, and sometimes, especially if they are dying,
their body will naturally need lees fluids. The same goes for terminally ill
people, for in most cases they also need and/or desire less water and food.

Elderly people
in hospitals are carefully watched in order to prevent and treat early signs of
dehydration.